More nuanced answer to failure……….

Mr.GURCHARAN DAS has piece in WSJ titled “The Dharma of Capitalism” in which he writes:

• “President Barack Obama's reaction to the crisis, among other things, was to seek to claw back bank bonuses. Congressional Democrats suggested an extortionate tax on bonus recipients at banks that received federal bailout money. To want to punish someone in this crisis is understandable but it is a dangerous path. What the world needs instead is the calm and principled voice of King Yudhishthira. He would have appealed for a voluntary return of bonuses while explaining to the public that Wall Street had been bailed out to save Main Street's pain. Furthermore, honoring bonus contracts is necessary to support the rule of law.
  
• If envy is the sin of socialism, greed is the sin of capitalism. As capitalist nations grow, the resulting wealth creates enervating influences. Generations of savers are replaced by spenders. Ferocious competition is a feature of the free market and it can be corrosive. But it is also an economic stimulant that promotes human welfare. The subtle art of dharma tries to strike the right balance between healthy and unhealthy competition.
  
• The choice for policy makers today is not between free markets and central planning but in getting the mix of regulation right. No one wants state ownership of production where the absence of competition corrodes the character even more. Dharma's approach is not to seek moral perfection, which leads inevitably to theocracy or dictatorship. It recognizes that it is in man's nature to want more and it seeks to give coherence to our desires by containing them within the discipline of an ordered existence.
  
• We must learn to live with imperfection but seek the sort of regulation that not only catches crooks but also rewards dharma-like behavior and nobility of character.”
  

In the ET Mr Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar says “… the problem as Obama’s cowardice rather than corruption. I don’t expect another Great Depression: at worst, the US will suffer stagnation of the sort Japan had in the 1990s. Most likely, we will see a long, weak recovery. Either way, it’s bad news for India, which badly needs US resurgence.”

Saga folks on Das

Arun Venugopal says:

• “There was a time--quite a long period, actually--when Westerners liked to refer to the "Hindu rate of growth" in India, i.e., the slow growth of the nation's economy (compared to other Asian countries) and its apparent basis in Hindu fatalism (Whaat to do, we're like that only). The term was supposedly coined by economist Raj Krishna but popularized by Robert McNamara. 
  
• Atanu Dey thinks it should've been called "the Nehru rate of growth," to reflect its roots in socialist policies, but Arun Shourie had another idea in a column he wrote a year ago: simply re-brand "the Hindu rate of growth" as shorthand for high growth, and give credit to India's Hindus.
  
• A couple days ago, "India Unbound" author Gurcharan Das wrote an op-ed in the New York Times. It's ostensibly about whether India or China will end up occupying the "top rung on the ladder of world power." Generally, I find these India vs. China discussions more a parlor game than anything else, but Das' larger point is that India manages to succeed despite its government, while China grows because of its government.
  
• While he's at it, though, he can't help toss up a couple "Hindu" theories, explaining its economic growth as well as its democratic strengths.
  
• The column has been received with some skepticism, namely the Vaishya theory, in an ongoing discussion on the SAJA discussion list (which is separate from this blog). But read Gurcharan Das' entire piece and let us know what you think”.
  

 Comments posted:

• “It sounds ugly but Gurusharan das belongs to Khatri community, sub caste of Vaishya .He is some what right, when he claims -Indian economy is being ruled by Vaishya community.
  
• when one community is identifiably superior to another in generating wealth (as you so APTLY point out) the heirarchy of caste must be reconfigured to give credit where it is due”.